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THE MAGI'S PILGRIMAGE Matthew 2:1-23 Key Verse: 2:2 "...and asked, 'Where is the one who has been born king of the Jews? We saw his star in the east and have come to worship him.'" Matthew 2:1-23 is a story about Magi from the east who came to worship the baby Jesus during the time of King Herod. They say that Albert Schweitzer traveled 500 miles on foot to see a newly designed pipe organ. We can understand that he traveled such a long distance with a burning desire to see what he liked. But it is not easy to understand why the Magi traveled such a long distance to worship the baby Jesus, spending so much money and time. It seemed to be totally unnecessary for kingly people to see a baby born in a stable of animals and laid in a manger. Humanly speaking, it was not necessary. But from God's point of view, it was necessary for them to come to see the baby Jesus born and laid in a manger. Let's see why it was necessary for them to come to worship the baby Jesus. Today's passage includes the story about King Herod. His response to the birth of Jesus is quite a contrast to that of the Magi. Jesus had to escape to Egypt as soon as he was born. For this escape, Joseph took care of the mother Mary and the baby Jesus. He appears to be an extra. But Joseph was an indispensable person in God's work and history. First, the Magi--truth-seekers (1,2). Look at verse 1. "After Jesus was born in Bethlehem in Judea, during the time of King Herod, Magi from the east came to Jerusalem...." Magi, traditionally called "Wise Men," supposedly lived in ancient Persia or Babylon. They were ancient astrologers who were highly regarded as great scholars and kingly people. In ancient times, many believed that a man's destiny was determined by the star under which he was born. According to Time Magazine, in 1969 there were 10,000 full-time astrologers in the United States, and in fact, they are all magic artists. Where did the Magi get the idea to come to Jerusalem? Verse 2b says, "We saw his star in the east...." They saw "his star." In the course of seeking the truth, once they looked into the sky. They saw a bright star in the sky. The star was not an ordinary star. It was an extraordinary star which captured their souls. They were convinced that it was "his star," which symbolized the King of the Jews. The Bible teaches us that Jesus himself is the Star. Revelation 22:16b reads, "I am the Root and the Offspring of David, and the bright Morning Star." The bright Morning Star is the beginning of brightening the whole world every day. Matthew 4:16 says that Jesus is "a great light." When the Great Light began to shine, the Magi caught its light from his star, which was solely reflected by the Great Light. When they had a burning desire to seek the truth, God showed them his star. The Magi came from a faraway country in the east, despite intractable difficulties and harrowing hardships, spending much money and sacrificing their life-careers. Their impelling motive was to see "the king of the Jews" (2). How did they know about the king of the Jews? They must have heard the prophecies of Isaiah and Micah concerning the Messiah, the Savior of the world, handed down by word of Page 1 of 6 mouth. This was the way of communication in ancient times. Why did the Magi come to see the king of the Jews? According to Paul's theology of salvation (Ro 8:20,21), the whole creation, both man and nature, was waiting for the coming of the Messiah--the one who saves them from their bondage. When we watch the world, generally people seem to be enslaved by many kinds of human desires. Some are slaves of physical desires. Some are slaves of emotional feelings. Some are slaves of money. Some are slaves of human achievement. They despaired so much that they look like prisoners behind iron bars, waiting for the day of emancipation from bondage. One young man really wanted to finish his Ph.D. He was so happy when he finished his Ph.D. Likewise, all human beings are waiting for the day of liberation from bondage of sins. In other words, all people are seeking "to see" the Messiah, who liberates them from their bondage. For example, the Magi looked so noble that they deserved all men's respect and praise. But in reality, they were no more than the descendants of Cain, who should have wandered with a sense of guilt and punishment, and with fear and anxiety throughout their lifetimes. They needed the baby Jesus who would save them from their sins. Without Jesus, they could not be liberated from the power of sins. As long as they were under the power of sin, they were not happy because of the poison of sin circulating in their bodies and souls. This is the reason men seek God earnestly. In ancient times, there were so many pilgrims. They called themselves "the truth-seekers," like Magi. Why did the Magi want to come to Jesus? Verse 2b says that they came to worship him. Magi in kingly costumes with long and flowing beards came to worship the baby Jesus. They had everything--honor, wealth and great learning. Still they were on a pilgrimage to worship the baby Jesus. It seems unnecessary. But it is necessary to worship God. The word "worship" is defined as "great love or great admiration." Why do we have to love God? It is because God made man in the image of God. When we love God we become godly people. Godly people love God and love their family members and their neighbors as themselves. On the other hand, ungodly people hate God because of their sins. They hate others because of their selfishness. Ungodly people are mostly so proud that they do not honor God as God. They want to place themselves in the center of the universe. Most of all, ungodly people are all unpredictable. According to Bible chemistry, when we love God we become like God. When we don't love God we become like the devil. Matthew 22:37 says, "Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind." Whenever we hear this teaching it sounds too demanding. But this is a spiritual secret for the happiness of mankind. When we study humanity, we come to know that man's basic problem is a love problem. Man always wants to love someone: a boyfriend or a girlfriend. But, in truth, all his love activities are mere expressions of a desire to love God, for God is our Everlasting Father (Isa 9:6). This is why the Wise Men from the east came to express their love for the baby Jesus, who came to this world as the Messiah of the world. What happens when we don't love God? When we don't love God, whether we want to or not, we become like the Gerasene demoniac (Mk 5), who rejected God's counsel and became unconditionally rebellious, extremely fearful, and doubtful about everything. According to the Bible, to love Page 2 of 6 God or worship God is man's basic obligation. Second, King Herod was a poor Bible student (3-5,7,8). King Herod called himself "Herod the Great." Under Roman rule, Herod's family held power for quite a long time (Mt 14:1; Ac 12:1,23). When Herod heard about the birth of Jesus, he was disturbed (3). Herod felt that his kingship was threatened. Immediately he determined to destroy the baby Jesus, assuming that the baby Jesus would become his political opponent. Herod summoned all the people's chief priests and teachers of the law to ask them where the Christ was to be born (4). The chief priests and teachers of the law gave him the correct information from the Old Testament prophecy (5). The prophecy of Micah was the prophecy concerning the birth of the Messiah, the spiritual King. Therefore, the king whom the Magi called, "the king of the Jews," had nothing to do with the political king. But Herod had no spiritual understanding. Herod disguised himself as one of Jesus' worshipers and asked the Magi to tell him when they found the baby Jesus (8). But God gave the Magi wisdom to avoid Herod's conspiracy (12). When Herod learned that he had been outwitted by the Magi, he became furious. He gave orders to kill all the baby boys in Bethlehem and its vicinity who were two years old or under, in accordance with the time he had learned from the Magi (16). Spiritual blindness is not a small matter. For example, Vladimir Lenin, in his spiritual blindness, taught Stalin to destroy their political opponents. Because of his bad influence, Stalin killed too many people. He made so many Russian women sorrowful endlessly because most of their husband candidates were killed and they had no hope to get married. Likewise, King Herod also caused people to grieve and be terrified due to his spiritual blindness. As new sprouts are attacked by noxious insects when they come up from the ground, so when the newborn baby Jesus appeared, he was attacked by the power of sin and Satan.
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